If Assad falls....
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 02:53 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 02:56 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 03:03 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 03:13 last edited by
Jeez..this rolled out fast.
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 06:05 last edited by
Welcome to the neighborhood .
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 06:08 last edited by
No kidding, Assad and Co. folded like a cheap suit and high tailed it out of Dodge.
Hope he and the family will enjoy living in Dead Skunk, Russia. Good riddance.
I think the lost plane or crash stories are just stories, social media gossip.
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 11:46 last edited by
I suspect nearly three years of diminishing Russian support contributed to his demise. Hard to imagine his replacement will be significantly better.
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 11:59 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 12:11 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 12:18 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 12:23 last edited by
It was good to be the king.
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 12:32 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 12:42 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 12:49 last edited by
I haven't followed the Syrian mess in a long time.
"Aleppo? What's that?" - remember?
Anyhow are the rebels allied with any country, what is their ideology - moderates, or true believers?
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 12:50 last edited by
This must be a tough day for Tulsi.
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 12:59 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 13:16 last edited by
Darth rocks. But I suspect whoever comes in they will not be very friendly to Iran or Russia. Maybe Sunni, with influence from the Saudis.
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 15:32 last edited by
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wrote on 8 Dec 2024, 17:33 last edited by
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. As he entered Damascus behind his victorious fighters Sunday, he even dropped his nom de guerre and referred to himself with his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa.
The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test.
Insurgents control Damascus, Assad has fled into hiding, and for the first time after 50 years of his family’s iron hand, it is an open question how Syria will be governed.
Syria is home to multiple ethnic and religious communities, often pitted against each other by Assad’s state and years of war. Many of them fear the possibility that Sunni Islamist extremists will take over. The country is also fragmented among disparate armed factions, and foreign powers from Russia and Iran to the United States, Turkey and Israel all have their hands in the mix.
Hours after Damascus’ capture, the 42-year-old al-Sharaa made his first appearance in the city’s landmark Umayyad Mosque, declaring Assad’s fall “a victory for the Islamic nation.” A senior rebel commander, Anas Salkhadi, appeared on state TV to declare, “Our message to all the sects of Syria, is that we tell them that Syria is for everyone,”
Al-Sharaa, who has been labeled a terrorist by the United States, and his insurgent force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – many of whose fighters are jihadis -- now stand to be a major player.
For years, al-Sharaa worked to consolidate power, while bottled up in the province of Idlib in Syria’s northwest corner as Assad’s Iranian- and Russian-backed rule over much of the country appeared solid.
He maneuvered among extremist organizations while eliminating competitors and former allies. He sought to polish the image of his de-facto “salvation government” that has been running Idlib to win over international governments and reassure Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities. And he built ties with various tribes and other groups.
